Sam Duckworth has annonced plans to release a new solo album, and has today laid out details of the preorder orientated kickstarter project for ‘Amazing Grace’.
A new song called ‘Only A Fool’ is available in an almost complete form, andto get the album finished, Duckworth is asking for pledges to make it the best it can be and press it for fans.
Full details on the campaign can be found by clicking here, and you can check out the full statement from Duckworth about the campaign below with the track.
“Last year was grim. Full of sadness and full of questions. I toyed with the idea of giving up, musically and emotionally resigned. Somewhere along the way I realised that its best to be fighting (not go down fighting, but keep fighting.)
In between sleeping (sorry family) and eating (sorry trousers) I spent Christmas trying to make sense of everything. I sat down with my acoustic for a few weeks and wrote. In fact I didn’t stop writing. Somehow out of this process an album was born. I have spent a great few years having fun and trying out new things, finding joy and inspiration in music. This time it was different. I was writing because I had no choice, which is unusual for me. It got a bit much.
Come the turn of the year, I got into the studio with my friend Jay and started to try and make sense of it. We have known each other for years and he was a big part of the Mannequin record, so he gets what I can be like sometimes, musically and personally. However it didn’t really feel right for the time spent making this album to be heavy. I also was very much aware of the idea of doing this album justice, If I was going to do this I should do it right.
Now for some light. You often find yourself leaning on family and friends in times of crisis, but we’d all been through enough. The process of this album has been fun. I’ve found nothing as good as spending time with your friends doing something you love. Its also nice to have a language to use when words are getting too hard. This all might sound a bit wishy washy, but hopefully some of you know what I mean.
I am so happy to have an album that represents me as I am now. Life at 27 is a bit more challenging, events and emotions are heightened with a few years on your back, both good and bad. I’ve tried my best to sum that up in 11 songs. Thankfully I’ve had the pleasure of roping in some of the best folk I know to help me make it sound more pleasant. The album is a collection of acoustic songs brought to life by a cast of friends.
The record is almost ready. It needs a mix. A 32 strong cast needs a director and we all know its best if that’s not me, as much as chaos can be fun sometimes. However this is going to cost some money. It would also be nice to pay the musicians something for their time, its a thin veil of professionalism sometimes, but its important to at least try. Ordinarily, I would look to record labels. However I’ve enjoyed seeing how the pledge process works. Both The Wolfnotes and Kate Nash have made records that are not just great, but true to them. Everything from the sound to the artwork is considered and I think its
the only way to do things. I would love the opportunity to see this album through properly, to be able to include things like photos and sleeve notes in the artwork and to listen to it sounding the way its intended (we try but its always better with outside ears.) I’m keen to try and keep this as true to the process of making the record as possible.
The song online (‘Only A Fool’) is a good indicator of where we are at with the album- its almost finished (although there is an awesome guitar part and vocal melody waiting in the wings for when we can pin folk down.) Its one of the more upbeat sides to the album, I would’ve hated to come back with something darker, although the album is a fairly balanced mix.
‘Only A Fool’ is available to download immediately for all those who order something here – just head to the ‘Updates’ page on the lefthand side.
We’ve filmed the whole thing and will continue over the coming weeks, with artwork, mixing and a few more sessions to come, we’ll be as candid as possible with the decision making process. I really enjoy watching studio documentaries and we are trying our best to make it interesting. I’d like to think we are making a series of videos worth watching online. We are also making mixtapes and podcasts to listen to on the bus or in the gym, maybe even on the sly at work. I like the opportunity to tell the whole story of this record in detail. All this will be made available during the course of the campaign as a reward when you pre-order the album.
Preordering this album will allow it to be finished. Pre ordering one of the records and cds will allow them to be manufactured without having to take into account all the deductions and pitfuls of record company budgets. It is a leap of faith paying for something that isn’t coming out for 2 months, but rest assured it will be yours to download and posted as soon as its manufactured at the end of the campaign on the 19th May. The interim period will be full of stuff that, hopefully, we can mutually agree on being interesting.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. By the nature of the internet, this means you must have clicked on a link. If that came through one of my websites (twitter, facebook etc.) then thank you for showing an interest. Be it out of curiosity or conviction, I hope you fancy taking this journey with me. Either way, I appreciate your support and thank you for caring about my music.
Sam”